As for this weapon, he decided to give it to Komini.
He had already tested his own weapon while fighting slimes earlier. Although the attribute panel only listed 8 attack power, there was clearly some hidden correction in actual combat.
The dark blade still drew blood with every strike against those monsters, and more importantly, the soul damage remained intact.
So for now, Decisive Heart was still a noble blue-damage weapon—far from something that could be easily replaced.
"Eh… really?" The junior in front of him was visibly shocked by his words. "Are you really, really giving it to me?"
Despite what she said, Komini's body honestly betrayed her—she quickly pulled the Terra Blade close to her chest, as if afraid Arthur might change his mind.
"If I said I'd give it to you, I'll give it to you," Arthur smiled. "Consider it a gift from me, your senior, to celebrate your official adaptation to this world."
"...Thank you."
Komini bowed her head, but even then, the joy on her face was impossible to hide.
"Don't be so formal," Arthur said. He had no intention of letting this unexpected gain slow their progress. "Next, keep digging. Try to find more Life Crystals."
"Mm."
Komini nodded, now brimming with motivation after obtaining her first EGO Weapon.
The two once again took out their brass-colored pickaxes and re-entered the tunnel.
And at that very moment—just as Arthur continued mining tirelessly in the world of Terraria—
In another place, beyond the boundaries of time itself, someone else was also working.
Lobotomy Corporation Headquarters
With the exception of a very small number of people, almost no one knew such a place existed within the Headquarters.
A dark, cramped control room.
Within this limited space, its builders had forcibly installed countless massive screens.
Through them, the one stationed here could observe the status of every department in Lobotomy Corporation Headquarters.
But standing here now was not a human—
It was an AI.
A pale blue glow illuminated the face before the screens.
No emotion could be read from skin as white and smooth as velvet.
Angela stood quietly in the darkness, listening to the piercing echoes that only she could hear.
[!Light Seed script error!]
[!Light Seed script restart!]
"..."
One by one, the screens went dark, plunging the room into maddening silence.
In that darkness, golden pupils slowly closed.
Again…
Angela allowed the familiar pain and loneliness to spread through her chest.
Under the control of T Corp's Singularity, time in this hell had long since lost its meaning.
Internal Time:
89,217 years, 8 months, 13 hours, 24 minutes, 58.543 seconds
External Time:
8 years, 11 months, 3 hours, 25 minutes, 10.852 seconds
Cycle Count:
34,212
To Angela—whose perception of time was slowed a hundredfold—these experiences had already stretched across hundreds of thousands of years.
Where did it go wrong…
Her eyelashes trembled slightly as her golden pupils reopened, becoming the only light left in the room.
There was no impatience, no pain visible on her face.
She had long since grown accustomed to it.
She simply thought.
Why… has this single day repeated thirty times…
In all previous cycles, such an anomaly had never occurred.
Angela understood her role clearly—she had done so for over twenty thousand cycles.
I am an existence that provides necessary stimulation to the Sephirah.
An existence meant to accelerate the script and deepen their suffering.
An existence that must prepare the stage before the Manager awakens.
I am forbidden from forming relationships.
Only accelerate the script.
Make it more painful.
After accepting this truth—after understanding she had no other choice—Angela had always complied.
She ignored employees' pleas for help.
She rejected the Sephirah's safety proposals.
She forced everyone in Headquarters to live in despair.
She drove each Sephirah to emotional collapse beneath unbearable pressure.
Only then could Ayin's script proceed.
Only then would time refrain from resetting.
Today's task for the Manager should have been the core suppression of the Training Department Sephirah—Minister Hod.
[Cycle 34,213 — Start]
The Sephirah should still resent her past memories.
As countless times before, the screens lit up one after another.
Angela's gaze settled on the rightmost display.
In the orange-toned central control room, no distorted monsters appeared.
Minister Hod was still smiling gently, providing psychological counseling to employees who needed it.
Why…
Why haven't you broken yet, Minister Hod…
Angela sighed.
Thirty restarts.
Time slowed one hundredfold.
Even for her, patience had its limits.
It's time to take actions that should have been taken long ago…
"Please excuse me, Manager. There appears to be a minor mishap. Kindly wait a moment."
But unlike previous cycles, Angela did not awaken the man resting in the hibernation pod.
She merely stood beside it, smiling politely as she apologized.
"I will resolve this shortly. There is no need for concern."
Yet if any human were present, they would have noticed—
The warmer Angela's smile became, the colder the light in her golden pupils grew.
After finishing her sentence, she turned and left the room, walking toward the corridor leading to the Training Department.
Lobotomy Corporation HeadquartersTraining Department Corridor
"Ah—finally done with today's work."
"Thanks to Minister Hod's new manual…"
There were no sirens.
No screams.
Only genuine gratitude from employees.
Angela passed silently through the crowd, ignoring the surprised looks cast her way.
She pushed open the door to the psychological counseling room—
And entered alone.
"Ah, Angela!"
Minister Hod noticed her arrival, though she was still counseling another Training Department employee.
Angela neither spoke nor interrupted. She simply walked behind Hod, stopped at the desk, and opened a freshly printed employee manual.
"Um… may I continue my work?"
Angela looked down, flipping through the pages. Since Hod couldn't see her expression, she asked cautiously.
"..."
Angela did not reply.
For several seconds, the only sound was the soft rustling of paper.
Eventually, Minister Hod yielded.
"Um… I'm sorry, Tiffany. Please come back later."
"No problem, Minister Hod," Tiffany said with a bright smile."Thanks to the new manual, we have more options when dealing with Abnormalities."
"Haha… we'll talk later."
The employee left, and Minister Hod gently closed the door.
Only then did she turn back.
"Angela… is something wrong?"
Normally, Angela rarely interfered with a Sephirah's work.
Could it be she came to praise the plan?Ehehe… most of this was written by Arthur, though…
"If it's about the plan—"
"...It's nothing major."
Angela interrupted her.
The manual closed softly in her hands.
She raised her head.
Her chilling golden pupils met Hod's eyes.
"Minister Hod, please immediately cease your command of the Training Department.Furthermore, this employee manual is no longer permitted to be printed.Your new plan ends here."
"..."
Minister Hod froze.
Several seconds passed before she spoke in disbelief.
"Are you joking?! This plan has reduced employee deaths by 70% in the past seven days! Why stop it?!"
"Minister Hod, the Manager does not require your unauthorized actions."
As Angela spoke, her hands moved.
Page by page.Piece by piece.
The manual Hod had devoted days to was torn apart in her mechanical grip.
Scraps scattered across the floor.
"What we need is energy, Minister Hod.Your department's energy output is already the lowest in Headquarters."
"But—don't the lives of employees matter most?!"
Even as her work was destroyed, Hod refused to yield.
"My plan helps everyone! No one has to face Abnormalities blindly anymore!"
"But your plan does not help Lobotomy Corporation."
Angela turned to leave.
"It's over, Minister Hod.Do what you're supposed to do."
"...Angela!"
Hod's voice trembled—not with tears, but defiance.
"I can print as many manuals as I want! I will never give up!"
"I am the Sephirah of the Training Department! I want to save everyone—I can save everyone!"
Angela stopped.
She turned back, brows knitting slightly.
"This is… unexpected.Are you attempting to defy the Head?"
"Defy…?"
Hod didn't understand.
Angela sighed.
Ayin truly accounted for everything.
The solution already exists…
"I'm sorry, Minister Hod. I didn't want to do this."
"Do what?"
Red data flooded Hod's system.
Memories surged.
Endless employee deaths.Mockery during counseling sessions.Repetitive, futile anomaly training.
Curses echoed.
"You think this helps?!""We're all dead anyway!""You just want to feel better about yourself!"
Hod collapsed to her knees.
These were memories Angela had recorded—torment repeated tens of thousands of times.
Her consciousness shattered.
"No… I just wanted to help…"
"Why does no one understand me?!"
"Without me, you'd all be dead!"
[! Reverse Sephirah Meltdown !]
Distorted tentacles tore through her body.
Bang!
The wall exploded outward.
Chaos erupted in the Training Department.
Only Angela remained calm.
She smiled faintly and walked away.
Head… it's time to wake up.
And then—
She recalled something interesting.
The prototype of the "Employee Handbook."
The Anomaly Response Handbook.
And its true author—
Arthur.